The present teachings relate to an electro-mechanical agent. More specifically, the present teachings relate to an electro-mechanical agent that can be configured to form an expandable modular construction system, apparatus of the electro-mechanical agent, and method for constructing one or more electro-mechanical agents such as a robot from a set of modular components.
Global education structure has gradually shifted from what was a purely academic and textual/knowledge based system to a compound system derived from a strategic blend of curricular and co-curricular activities. Inter-school, inter-college and even inter-state student's competitions in various disciplines, serve as a fine platform for application of academic learning since applied-skills are hard to develop at an institutional environment. Technology-driven companies and research organizations take active interests in creating such opportunities which not only develop scientific temperament in participants but also reduce the industry-academic gap in terms of exposing students to latest technical tools and helping organizations fish out bright brains that can be nurtured from an early stage.
For over a decade now, robotic competitions have taken the spot-light amongst other technical competitions across various countries. The competition mainly involves rapid robot building from limited components such that the finished robot is enabled to complete one or more assigned tasks. The tasks can differ from one age group to another. Typically, an older age group is assigned a more complex task than a younger age-group, thus increasing the expectation of building a more versatile robot. Most robotic construction kits comprise inter-connectable components to form a base which can be expanded for providing additional features depending upon the task assigned to the robot. Distinct set of components, in the form of a kit, can be provided to respective age groups. For example, a set of components designed and/or marketed for a younger age group is more likely to introduce students to basic engineering concepts and tools, in a lucid manner, than a set of components designed for older age groups. Such sets can comprise fewer parts with minimum need of assistive components. An example of a starter kit can be a LEGO™ mind storms EV3 kit that comprises less complex components. Such starter kits aim at invoking the participants to apply their preliminary engineering knowledge and/or intuitive thinking for constructing and functioning of the robot. Construction sets for participants belonging to a higher age group can include higher number of components with increase in complexity of assembling and functioning of these components. Additionally, these components can be customized by the participants such that they are suitable for the assigned task/s. As previously mentioned, the set of components can be expandable, i.e. the participants can add, eliminate and/or modify the components to provide additional features to the robot for making it suitable for one or more assigned tasks. The nature of these assigned tasks can be varied. For the purpose of describing construction and functioning of the electro-mechanical agent, some of the potential assigned tasks have been discussed in this specification. One of the assigned tasks can be to carry a certain number of objects from a first location to a second location and the robot may be required to follow a certain path for performing this function within a specified time and/or within a specified area. For such a task the robot can use line-following sensors along with target object detection sensors to complete the assigned task. Yet another example of an assigned task can be to make the robot proceed from a start point to an end point with a number of obstacles in the path which the robot is required to detect and avoid by altering its route or passing over the obstacles without causing any damage to the obstruction or to itself. In such scenarios the robot can use, for example ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection. Likewise, the speed and efficiency of a robot can be altered by different types or numbers of gear motors with appropriate gear drives.
Increased interest in robotics and higher participation in related competitions has created a thriving market for construction sets suitable for every participating age group. Each participant or a participating team needs an inexpensive construction kit including fewer parts with no compromise on efficiency, load bearing or programming capabilities. A higher complexity in the task increases the cost and number of parts that could be required to build the appropriate robot. Most participating teams include students from public schools and home-schools where funding can be a concern. These students often struggle to obtain financial support for enrollment and purchase of one or more appropriate construction kits. Not all participating teams get financial encouragement from schools. Hence, there stands a need for providing an inexpensive robot construction kit which can be afforded by the participating teams or sponsored by the respective institutions. The disclosed system and apparatus aims at easing the cost burden for construction and operation of an electro-mechanical agent without compromising on the efficiency of each participating component in contributing towards any assigned task/s.